Alabama Continues Homestand with Western Kentucky on Saturday Afternoon

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama continues its four-game homestand when it welcomes the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT on ESPNU. The contest was not on the original schedule, but due to COVID-19 issues with both UA and WKU originally scheduled opponents, the two teams agreed to the head-to-head match-up earlier in the week.

Saturday's contest marks just the third meeting between the teams in series history and the first since squaring off on the hardwood on Nov. 24, 1989. The Crimson Tide owns a 2-0 lead in the all-time series with the only other contest coming back on Dec. 3, 1955 (Alabama won, 90-85).

Alabama won for the third time in its last four games when it defeated Furman, 83-80, last Tuesday night. The Crimson Tide trailed by as many as 16 points and for more than 37 minutes in the contest before a furious late-game rally lifted UA to a three-point win. Alabama won the game on the offensive boards, outrebounding the Paladins 21-5 in the category which resulted in a 24-3 advantage in second chance points.

The Broadcast

Saturday's game will be available on ESPNU with Mike Morgan (play-by-play) and Daymeon Fishback (analyst) on the call.
The radio broadcast can be heard on the Crimson Tide Sports Network with Roger Hoover (play-by-play) and Bryan Passink (analyst) on the call. The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.

Team Notes

The Tide is currently in a stretch of playing four games in a 10-day span – three of which will come under the arched roof of Coleman Coliseum. Following the game against Clemson in Atlanta on Dec. 12, Alabama began its current homestand with an 83-80 come-from-behind win over Furman on Dec. 15. UA will close the stretch with home contests against Western Kentucky (5-2) on Dec. 19 and East Tennessee State (2-3) on Dec. 22.
After having faced a tough non-conference slate through six games on the year, the upcoming schedule will not get any easier for Alabama as five of its next nine opponents are either undefeated or have one loss on the year, while three are either ranked or receiving votes. Following the games against WKU and ETSU, Alabama's first four SEC games will come against Ole Miss (4-0), at Tennessee (3-0), Florida (4-1) and at Auburn (4-2). After a date at Kentucky, who is currently 1-4, the Tide will face a pair of undefeated teams in Arkansas (6-0) and at LSU (4-0). Combined, the opposition owns a record of 33-12 (.733 winning percentage).
Crimson Tide starting guards John Petty Jr. (12.5 ppg), Jaden Shackelford (12.3 ppg) and Jahvon Quinerly (11.8 ppg) have combined to average 36.6 of the Tide's 76.3 points per game average – approximately 48 percent of the team's total output.
Alabama's strength of schedule ranks No. 48 in the non-conference which is fourth-best among all SEC teams. The six teams the Tide has faced owns a combined record of 23-13 (.639). It will not get any easier for UA as its next five opponents own a combined record of 19-8 (.704). When totaling together the first 11 teams on Alabama's schedule, opponents own a total record of 42-21 (.667).
John Petty Jr. has made a team-leading 11 three-pointers on the year, pushing his career total to 245 made threes. He now needs only 19 more treys to become the program's all-time leader in the category, which is currently held by Brian Williams (1996-99) who made 263 career threes at Alabama. Furthermore, his 651 career attempts from deep is 88 shy of breaking Williams' program record of 738 three-point shots.

About Alabama

Alabama enters Saturday's contest against Western Kentucky sporting a 4-2 record on the season. The Crimson Tide won for the third time in its last four games when it took down Furman, 83-80, last Tuesday night in Coleman Coliseum.
Four Crimson Tide players are averaging 11.5 or more points per game for head coach Nate Oats in the early part of the season. Forward Herbert Jones (13.7 ppg), along with guards John Petty Jr. (12.5 ppg), Jaden Shackelford (12.3 ppg) and Jahvon Quinerly (11.8 ppg) combined to account for 50.3 of the Tide's 76.3 points per game average.
Jones, considered one of the top defensive players in the entire nation, leads the team in rebounding (7.3 rpg), three-point field goal percentage (.500, 5-of-10), charges taken (2), Blue Collar Points (152, 25.3 BCP per game) and Hard Hat Awards (4). He enters the WKU contest with much improved offensive numbers. In addition to averaging double digits, Jones is collecting 2.5 assists per contest, while shooting 45.9 percent from the field (21-of-45) and 50.0 percent from beyond the arc (5-of-10).
The trio of Petty (11-of-39), Shackelford (10-of-30) and Quinerly (7-of-20) have combined to hit 28 of the Tide's 54 three-pointers made this season (28-of-89, 31.5 percent).
As a team, Alabama is outscoring the opposition by 5.0 points per contest (76.3-71.3) while shooting 40.9 percent from the field, 29.7 percent from deep and 69.4 percent from the charity stripe.
This season, the Tide welcomed back four starters and five of its top seven scorers off last year's team, three were named as All-SEC performers a year ago. Petty (Second Team All-SEC), Shackelford (All-Freshman) and Jones (All-Defensive) all earned a spot on the postseason teams. Both Petty and Jones tested the NBA waters, with Petty, who was one of the last players to withdraw his name, announcing his return in early August and Jones in mid-June.
Alabama was predicted to finish fifth overall as voted on by a select panel of both SEC and national media members. Additionally, Petty All-SEC Preseason First Team honors by both the coaches and media members, while Jones earned a spot on the preseason second team as voted on by the league's head coaches. Petty was selected to the 2020 Jerry West Award Watch List for the nation's top shooting guard. He was also tabbed preseason All-SEC by Blue Ribbon Yearbook.
Head coach Nate Oats is in his second season at the helm of the Crimson Tide program and owns a record of 20-17 (.541) during his time at the Capstone. Oats, who is in his sixth season as a collegiate head coach, owns a career record of 116-60 (.659).

About Western Kentucky

Western Kentucky comes into Saturday's contest sporting a 5-2 overall mark on the season. The Hilltoppers' two losses both came against top-25 opponents (lost to No. 8 West Virginia 70-64 and No. 23 Louisville 75-54). WKU is averaging 76.6 points per game while shooting 44.7 percent from the floor and 30.3 percent from beyond the arc. Defensively, the Hilltoppers are allowing the opposition to score 74.1 points a game while holding foes to 44.9 percent from the field and 44.7 percent from beyond the arc.
For the third straight year, WKU has been picked by the Conference USA coaches to win the league. The Hilltoppers were selected as the C-USA favorite in the annual preseason poll, while WKU senior guard Taveion Hollingsworth and junior center Charles Bassey were named to the Preseason All-Conference Team.
Both Bassey and Hollingsworth are tied for the team lead at 16.4 points per contest and are the only double digit scorers on the team entering Saturday's game. Bassey also leads the Hilltoppers with 11.3 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per contest while shooting 57.8 percent from the field. Josh Anderson is averaging 9.7 points per game while leading the team in steals (1.9) and three-point field goal percentage (.400, 4-of-10).
Bassey enters the game leading the nation in total blocked shots (28) and total rebounds (79). An NBA lottery pick prospect, Bassey is also among the nation's leaders in double-doubles (4), blocks per game (4.0) and field goals made (48).
Head coach Rick Stansbury is in his fifth season as the Hilltoppers' head coach and owns a record of 87-54 (.617). Now in his 19th season as a head coach, Stansbury owns a record of 380-220 (.633). He is familiar to Alabama fans as Stansbury spent 14 seasons as the head coach of Mississippi State where he took the Bulldogs to six NCAA tournaments and five NITs during his tenure in Starvkille, Miss.

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Alabama Continues Homestand with Western Kentucky on Saturday Afternoon

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Herbert Jones

John Petty Jr.

Jahvon Quinerly

Jaden Shackelford

University of Alabama Athletics

Alabama Continues Homestand with Western Kentucky on Saturday Afternoon

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Herbert Jones

John Petty Jr.

Jahvon Quinerly

Jaden Shackelford

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